10 THEOSOPHY EXPLAINED

Ans. All religions have grown round some great
Teachers—in fact their very names are taken from those
Founders—like Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism,
Muhammadanism. The Founders of religions are all Divine
Men under the World-Teacher, members of a Great
Brotherhood who guide mankind and are in charge of a
body of teachings, called the Ancient or Divine Wisdom.
When a portion of mankind is ready for some new
teaching, one of the Brotherhood is born amongst them to
found a new religion, who ever brings with Him the same
truths, the same teachings, but shapes the form of those
teachings to suit the conditions of the time, such as the
intellectual stage of the people to whom He comes, their
type, their needs, their capacities. " Cows are many-
coloured, but the milk (of all) has but one colour. Look
on knowledge as the milk, and on the teachers as the
cows." Thus owing to the common divine origin, the
essentials of all religions are the same, though the non-
essentials vary.

Religions are like vessels into which water is poured ;

the water takes the shape of the vessels, but retains its
fitness to quench thirst. So spiritual life is poured into
religions, and takes shape according to the different
religions—the needs of the time, the intellectual stage of
the people concerned, etc.—but remains one spiritual life
all the same, able to quench the thirst of the spirit for the
knowledge of God.

As one white light includes all colours within itself,
so the different religions represent the varied colours which
in their union form the one white ray of Truth. As water
in differently-coloured glass tumblers appears differently
coloured though really colourless, as the same sun seen
through differently-coloured glasses appears differently